Recently the Turkish government has banned the famous online encyclopedia, Wikipedia. This is not the first online censorship that takes place in Turkey. The Turkish government has been banning a large number of popular websites especially after the recent failed 2016 coup attempt. Regarding other sites, the reason explained by the Turkish authority was that they would block anything that can cause a political propaganda or any sites that shows views or information that differs from that of the Turkish society. However, there was no clear reason given regarding Wikipedia.
Accordingly, internet users in turkey started seeking for alternative solutions to bypass these restrictions. This solution came in the form of VPNs. In the case of blocking Wikipedia, they needed to find a VPN with the most servers outside of Turkey to be able to connect to these servers and access Wikipedia freely plus any other site. An additional required feature was a high level of privacy and security in order not to be tracked or monitored by any unwanted parties while attempting to bypass the Wikipedia censorship. With that being put in consideration we were able to filter out the best 4 VPNs that could be used to unblock Wikipedia in Turkey.
Best VPNs to Unblock Wikipedia in Turkey
ExpressVPN
Based in the British Virgin Islands, ExpressVPN is considered the biggest name in the VPN market. Its strong large network and its bullet-proof security features surely attracted millions of users around the world. It is a perfect solution for the unblocking of Wikipedia.
Level of Security
- The ExpressVPN network is completely SSL secured with a military grade 256-bit encryption.
- The app supports the most advanced security protocols (OpenVPN with TCP/UDP, L2TP/IPSec, PPTP, and SSTP)
Network of Servers
- ExpressVPN has over 1000 servers in 145 locations, spread across over 94 countries around the world. Users can easily connect to any of these servers, outside of Turkey, and access Wikipedia.
- These servers provide their users with thousands of shared IP’s to hide their true online identity within and prevent unwanted monitoring.
Logs Policy
- ExpressVPN are very transparent about their privacy policy in that they clearly state that only the basic contact information is kept for the sake of maintaining the users’ subscriptions.
- No online activity logs or browsing history are monitored or recorded at all.
The Turkish government’s move to ban Wikipedia or any other site for that matter was no match for the strength of a big name like ExpressVPN.
SaferVPN
SaferVPN was launched in 2013 and in a very short period came a very long way to become one of the most known VPN service providers in the market. From security and privacy features to censorship bypassing features, this provider has got all what it takes to bypass the restriction of Wikipedia in Turkey.
Level of Security
- The SaferVPN network is secured with a 256-bit encryption.
- SaferVPN supports all the advanced security protocols (OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSec, PPTP, and IKEv2).
- Additional security features include automatic WiFi security, NAT firewall, and a VPN kill switch.
Network of Servers
- SaferVPN has over 400 servers spread across more than 30 countries around the world.
- There are servers close enough so that internet users in Turkey can bypass the restriction on Wikipedia at a suitable connection speed.
Logs Policy
- Only the very basic information needed to maintain the account is kept by SaferVPN. This information is kept highly secured and is not capable of giving away any online identity.
- No browsing history or online activity logs are monitored or recorded.
With a dedication like this to privacy and internet freedom, SaferVPN shows a very promising future. However, for now it is safe to say that this provider is more than capable to unblock Wikipedia in Turkey.
b.VPN
b.VPN is one of the most serious providers when it comes to online security, privacy and freedom. Its unique features are extremely competitive. Even against a challenge as big as banning Wikipedia in Turkey, b.VPN did not show a hint of weakness.
Level of Security
- b.VPN uses a 256-bit military grade encryption to secure its entire network.
- Only the most advanced security protocols are supported by the app (OpenVPN over SSH, L2TP/IPSec, PPTP, SSTP, and their very own SMOKE).
- Additional security features include public WiFi protection and DNS leak prevention.
Network of Servers
- b.VPN owns and operates servers in over 20 worldwide locations.
- Compared to its competitors, this might not seem like a large amount, yet these servers are very strategically placed that no geo-restrictions what so ever can stand in their way.
- This number is being updated regularly.
Logs Policy
- b.VPN has a very clear privacy or logs policy stating that only the very basic contact information is kept needed for maintaining the users’ accounts. This information is kept highly secured and only accessible to b.VPN.
- No online activities are monitored or recorded what so ever.
All these features and many more clearly show how serious b.VPN is about its users’ online privacy, security, and freedom. This shows how bright of a future b.VPN has. For now it’s safe to say that b.VPN is one of the best VPNs for France and any other country in the world for that matter.
Buffered VPN
The Hungary based VPN provider, Buffered VPN, was launched in 2013 with the main mission of making the internet completely free, secure, and private for its users. Buffered VPN has definitely succeeded in achieving its goal with all its online freedom, security and privacy features. It is surely a good recommendation to unblock Wikipedia in Turkey.
Level of Security
- Buffered VPN secures its entire network uses a 256-bit Blowfish encryption. This is considered military grade encryption.
- When it comes to security protocols, Buffered VPN supports OpenVPN exclusively as any other protocol will not be as safe and can have if even a slight risk.
Network of Servers
- Buffered VPN has over 30 servers spread strategically all over the world.
- Even though this might not be a large number compared to its competitors, yet the servers are located in all the important areas so the users will almost never feel a shortage in the servers.
- Buffered VPN also add new servers according to users’ requests. In other words, most of the server locations now are user-suggested.
- There are servers based inside Turkey and in neighboring countries like Bulgaria. This will help the users to bypass the restriction made on Wikipedia by connecting to any of the servers outside of Turkey.
Logs Policy
- Buffered VPN only keeps very basic information just for the sake of maintaining the account.
- No online activities or browsing history are monitored or recorded what so ever.
Even though Buffered VPN might not be as big a name as its high end competitors, yet it definitely has what it it takes to unblock Wikipedia in turkey easily and securely.
Conclusion
No matter how many sites the Turkish government tries to ban, there will always be a suitable VPN to bypass that. No matter how hard the government tries to monitor the internet users, there will be a VPN to keep their internet experience private. And with the suitable VPN internet users in Turkey can now easily access Wikipedia and any restricted site for that matter.
